Guardian Angel
by silverphyrbyrd
Summary: Captain Blue and Captain Scarlet both have problems of their own, and Blue's neice Karen is going crazy trying to sort everything out AND pass through the Academy but can Blue and Scarlet help each other? Fluffy slash


Disclaimer: I don't own Captain Scarlet.

Author's notes: This story was written a very, very long time ago. I have no idea what posessed me to write Captain Scarlett slash, but here it is, and it's not yet bad enough in my estimation that I can't post it here. I promise Karen Svenson does not resemble me in any way whatsoever.

GUARDIAN ANGEL

It had been a long time since Captain Scarlet had been... changed. A recurring worry in his mind was the nagging thought that he no longer knew what he was - part Mysteron? Possibly. Hell, he'd died so many times he was probably technically undead, though he showed no sign of turning grey and rotting, and there seemed to be no developing fangs or a tendency to walk through walls. One thing that was vanishing was his emotions, though that might have been the continual strain of Spectrum and the fact that, even when he'd simply been Paul Metcalfe, total emotionlessness had been the only real way to deal with strain. He'd been needing his feelings less and less these days. It was almost frightening - he was only thirty-two, he didn't want to end up an unfeeling robot before he was forty.

He wasn't the only Spectrum agent to feel fear. It had been a long time since... it... had happened, but still Captain Blue never spoke of his family or his background, and he still worried about the effects on his one surviving relative: his eighteen-year-old niece, Karen, now in his charge. And now, had anyone stopped to notice the family resemblance, in the Spectrum academy, where she could train to be an Angel and her 'Uncle Adam' could keep a close eye on her. A few people noticed. After all, Karen Svenson didn't try and hide her identity. One thing she did hide, however, were the letters her uncle sent her, which were always destroyed after she read them. She knew she was the only person Blue trusted with his private life, so the letters were always burned and the contents never divulged to anyone. Besides, these days he sounded a little bit pathetic. She'd have to speak to him face-to-face sooner or later, before he exploded...

xx

It was August. The sun was shining, the birds were singing in the trees and the Spectrum cadets were taking their exams. Symphony Angel watched them enter the examination hall in their black academy uniforms and wondered... how many would fail, or pass? Where would they go from here? How many of the girls - there were far fewer girls than boys - would become Angels? Had _she_ ever been that small?

'Thinking back, Symphony?' said a quiet voice behind her. She jumped and turned around.

'Captain Scarlet! You walk so _quietly_!' she exclaimed, privately wondering how the hell he did that.

'Oh, sorry, did I startle you? Have you picked out any future Angels yet?'

'Er, yes, sir, as a matter of fact I have - you see the girl with the blonde plait, over there, by the door?'

'I see her.'

'She has the perfect build for an Angel. I spoke to her and she came here aged eleven with a knowledge of jets that would shame most adults.'

Scarlet inspected the girl in question, who was looking dreamily out of the window with clear blue eyes while most of the other cadets were going through their usual pre-exam terrors. She was quite small and slight, but now he came to think of it... 'She looks like Captain Blue.'

'Yes, sir. Karen Svenson, his niece, sir,' replied Symphony. 'She's a very bright girl.'

'I gathered. Well, I hope she does well and you get your new Angel.' Scarlet turned back towards Karen, but she'd already gone to take her seat.

xx

Blue was sitting in his room, writing another letter to Karen. He heard the door and ignored it - nobody else ever came into this room except himself and Scarlet, and Scarlet never read his letters.

'I never knew you had a niece, Adam,' said Scarlet.

'No, because I never told you,' replied Blue shortly. 'How did you find out?'

Scarlet accurately surmised that Symphony hadn't been supposed to tell, so all he said was, 'She looks incredibly like you, and there's the name - Karen Svenson - there's not that many Svensons in Spectrum. Why so defensive?' Silence. 'Symphony says she'll make a great Angel.' A reaction this time, a flicker of a proud smile.

'Yeah, Karen loves planes. Takes after her dad.'

'Her dad..?' prompted Scarlett.

'My oldest brother, Josef. He's dead, Karen's officially mine. You're being pretty nosy today, aren't you?'

'I'm sorry,' said Scarlet, in response to both parts of Blue's comment. He was surprised to be feeling guilty, but Blue didn't react anymore. The smaller man prodded at the question, as one might prod at a loose tooth. 'Plane crash?'

'No,' said Blue. He signed and sealed the letter and left the room, having apparently forgotten Scarlet was there.

xx

Karen left the examination hall with her head totally calm, an effort of will that had taken six years to master and another two to perfect, but by god, it was worth it. One of her friends had got an automatic fail mark by taking one look at the exam paper and passing out - Karen hoped that Spectrum would recognise exam terror and let him have another go. Less likely to have another go was the victim of the conversation behind her: 'How did you do?' 'Badly - I forgot the alphabet...'

'Karen, how did you do?' asked another of her friends.

'I think I did pretty well,' said Karen confidently. 'At least, I hope so. Uncle Adam will be gutted if I fail.' A few people muttered their amazement at her total unflappability, so she left the group and went to see if their was any mail.

No E-mail, but by snail-mail there was the familiar envelope. Karen and her uncle were practically in the same building these days, but both were busy people and she rarely actually saw him. However, the unstamped, hand-addressed envelope tuned up every day. She took it up to her dorm and opened it.

'_Dear Butterbean_,' it began. It made Karen smile that a Spectrum captain called his eighteen-year-old niece Butterbean. '_You'll be in an exam at the time I'm writing this - good luck to you, not that you'll need it! Here's the next part in the Continuing Saga of Uncle Adam, which is driving me up the wall. Paul is worried about something but he'd never tell me what it is and I'm his best friend. You already know my worries and I'm still terrified of giving him hints in case I don't have a friend any more - and before you suggest leaving a note, not a chance in hell. If I tell him it'll be to his face or nothing. Ah, here he comes now. Yes, before you ask, he's still as handsome as ever, just like last time you asked me, and somebody's been telling him about you. One of the Angels - you're highly favoured, my Butterbean. He says you look like me, but if I thought I looked that good to him I'd get my confidence back and my troubles'd be all over - or just starting. Oh, well... Good luck with the exams, and if you've got some advice for your poor old lovelorn uncle I'd be glad to hear it. Love, UNCLE ADAM xxx_'

'Hmm... Oh, Uncle Adam, why do you give yourself such a hard time?' sighed Karen to herself. She read the letter a few more times to commit it to memeory, then went outside and prepared to set it alight.

'Making a fire near a building? Don't you know that's dangerous?' The sudden voice almost gave Karen a heart attack and she wheeled round like a cornered puppy.

'Huh? Oh, er...' she began, looking up into the impassive face of Captain Scarlet. She crumpled the letter in her hand as surreptitiously as she could.

'Cadet Svenson, right?' asked Scarlet. Karen nodded. 'What's that?'

'Just a letter from a... friend, sir,' said Karen, thinking, _He's going to want to read it, oh no oh no oh no..._ Then a tiny demon in her head said, _Well, it's hardly your fault if he does, is it? And then if Uncle Adam ends up happy..._

'I'm afraid you're going to have to let me read that, Miss Svenson,' said Scarlet.

'Please sir, it's just a letter,' said Karen, bluffing wildly.

'"Just a letter"? Spectrum has a lot of things we can't take for granted, even in "just a letter". Now can I see that, please?' Karen handed the letter over reluctantly. She was a pretty good actress. She watched Scarlet's face as he read, and to her immense surprise, there was no change. He handed it back and simply said, 'You can burn it now, but somewhere else. Down by the lake would be good.'

'Uh, sir, you're not angry are you?' asked Karen. She'd met people who went calm when they were angry.

'I... No. No, I'm not angry.'

'Sir... I know I'm just a cadet, but I've got to say something. Permission to speak freely?' A long, long pause, then Scarlet nodded, once. 'Well... I've known my uncle a long time - all my life, and he tells me everything that's his to tell. Nobody else's secrets, just his, but I think... I think I'd better go now.' Karen, bright red to the ears, turned towards the lakeshore, but Scarlet stopped her.

'Finish what you were saying, please.'

'Well, uh, I think... I think you need each other. Uncle Adam's stubborn as a mule but eventually he'll give up and I don't know how soon that'll be - please don't let that happen...'

Scarlet wondered exactly why he needed Blue, but from the look in Karen's eyes - large and blue, obviously a Svenson family trait - that wasn't important right now. Blue needed him. 'I'll try.'

'Can I go now, sir?' said Karen. Scarlet let the girl go - she fled like a frightened deer - and went back to Cloudbase with a lot on his mind.

xx

That night, Blue went back to the room he shared with Scarlet - a situation which was getting unbearable - and found it pitch dark. He reached for the light switch but the desk lamp went on before he got there, bathing the room in a soft glow.

'If you found someone burning a letter in Spectrum grounds,' said a voice in the shadows, 'would you read the letter?'

'Sure,' said Blue. 'You know as well as I do what "burn this letter when you've read it" usually-' he stopped. 'You've seen one of my letters to my niece, haven't you?'

'Yes. She's a pleasant girl, by the way.'

'Yes, I know. What did you do with the letter?'

'Gave it back and sent her down to the lake to burn it.' Blue said nothing, so Scarlet went on. 'It seems we've both got our problems, right, Adam?'

'Who hasn't?'

'As far as I know, Harmony. And you know I keep out of your private life, so I never thought I'd say this, but - want to talk about it?'

'Only if you talk too.'

Scarlet hesitated. He'd never even told Blue about his fears. But then... 'Fair enough,' he said. Blue nodded for him to continue, so he went on. 'What am I, Adam?' The older man - Blue was only one year older, but it counted - looked confused, but Scarlet waved him unto silence. 'I'm indestructable. Even I've lost count of the number of times I've died and regenerated.'

'Five hundred and eighty-six,' said Blue quietly. Scarlet raised an eyebrow. Blue shrugged. 'It... terrifies me when you die. I keep thinking I'll never see you again. Keeping count helps, just a little bit, and it's been five hundred and eighty-six so far.'

'Really? It feels like more... You see this?' He tapped the Spectrum badge on his chest.' This is what I am these days. I'm not a man anymore, I'm a Spectrum agent, and that is all. A robot. I don't seem to have much emotion anymore - I mean, is a robot even capable of emotion, of feelings, of-'

Blue's hand covered his mouth for a moment. 'Of love?' he said softly. 'Well, no, but you're no robot. I know you're getting scarily cold these days, but that's how Karen deals with exams, she's been working on it for years. I know you get angry and I bet you still get scared, under all that veneer, I hope to hell you remember how to love. Robots don't turn me on the way you do.'

'Not even the specially designed ones?' Scarlet smiled wanly and Blue gaped at him.

'My god, you smiled... No, not even the specially designed ones. It's a life thing. If you'll let me I can show you.'

Scarlet looked into Blue's limpid eyes and realised what Karen had meant. How the hell she'd known was a mystery, but he didn't really mind. 'Sure. Show me I'm alive,' he said. Blue took him in his arms and kissed him, hard and hungrily. Scarlet let himself relax and returned the kiss, holding himself still in Blue's embrace. 'Adam?' he murmured after a few moments.

'What?'

'I hate to kill the moment, but there's one thing I've got to know. What did happen to Karen's parents?'

Adam froze. Finally he said, very quietly, 'The Mysterons got them. You remember, that big parade in Washington? My two big brothers and my little sister and Karen's four cousins were all got by the Mysterons and her other aunt and uncle were shot in the confusion afterwards. I couldn't do a thing about it. Karen had twisted her ankle and she was stuck in the car through most of the event or she'd probably be dead too - luckiest accident she'll ever have. Her mother died of cancer a few years before that so I adopted her - I'm her legal guardian anyway. But the real reason she wants to be an Angel is-'

'Revenge?'

'Got it in one.'

'That's why Lilac joined, wasn't it? And Yellow, and Carmine, and Empathy Angel, and-' Suddenly Blue stopped the other man's talk with a soul-searing kiss.

'Paul, will you please stop talking?' There was the sharp sound of a zip in the silence, and the rustle of cloth as a red jacket hit the floor.

xx

Dawn came, as slowly as if it were trying not to disturb the two men in the bedroom at Cloudbase. They'd forgotten to set the alarm clock, but that didn't matter much, since Scarlet always woke automatically at seven thirty AM anyway. This time he opened his eyes a little groggily, wondering for a moment what he was doing in Blue's arms in Blue's bed. Then the night before came back, as these things do. Scarlet smiled to himself and glanced at the bedside clock. Seven thirty-five AM. He'd overslept, but not too badly. He leaned over and kissed his sleeping lover, who did what he always did when he woke up - slammed his eyes open and said, 'I'm awake!' as if trying to convince somebody else.

'Yes, Adam, I know,' said Scarlet. Blue's eyes swivelled round to meet Scarlet's, and Scarlet half expected him to ask what happened last night.

Instead, he said, 'Morning, Paul. How long have you been awake?'

'Two, three minutes,' replied Scarlet. 'I pity whoever has to wash these sheets. Are you going to let me up?'

'Well, I guess eventually I'll have to, but right now I'm too comfortable to move,' answered Blue, tightening his hold on Scarlet's waist. After a few seconds, he sighed. 'Alright, come on then.' He slid out of bed and walked across the room. 'Are you coming?' he said over his shoulder. Scarlet rubbed the sleep-mist out of his eyes and followed Blue to the shower.

xx

The graduation of Spectrum cadets was generally an impressive affair, and took place amid lots of ceremony and triumph. An Angel flying display was part of the celebrations - as Lieutenant Teal had once said, the Angels didn't often get a chance to show off and therefore did their acrobatics at every opportunity. Once the white jets had landed, the ceremony itself took place, the cadets being called by name to collect their badge or scroll and beaming widely whatever their results.

Blue, standing on the dais with Scarlet, Symphony and Colonel White, scanned the young faces for his niece and finally located her - the one who looked like he would look if he was smaller, female and wore a plait. She was wearing her cadet's black for probably the last time and looking nervous for one of the very few times in her life.

'Darren Carlton, Basic Spectrum diploma C plus, special scientific level A plus,' said White. Blue found himself pitying Karen - Svenson would be _ages_. Every cadet had a basic Spectrum diploma, it was required to pass through the academy. Some, like Darren, had scraped through with a C plus but had shone in something specific, like special science, which was forensics. Out of the corner of his eye, Blue watched Scarlet give a Spectrum badge to Jake Davies, seemingly a true genius, with a basic A plus, an A in special science and an A plus in practical engineering. Hmm, they'd probably be seeing more of Jake...

Blue found himself thinking that the suspense must be awful for the poor cadets at the end of the alphabet. The suspense was awful even for him, and he'd got his results years ago. It seemed like ages before Symphony got around to giving a smile and a scroll to Pauline Ricardo (basic B minus, C plus in geometry and A in jet technology). Eric Ronson... James Smith... Simone Smith... William Stellarton...

'Karen Svenson, basic Spectrum diploma B plus, jet technology A, practical jet maintenance A plus,' said White. Karen got to her feet, cool as ever, but Blue couldn't stop himself applauding.

'Well done, Butterbean,' he whispered as she came for her scroll. Karen just smiled, evidently not as cool as she looked.

'Thanks,' she said, and went to get her badge.

xx

Karen went on to become Mystery Angel, one of the best and most valuable women ever to wear the white helmet. She achieved her ambition - not the one which went 'destroy all Mysterons at a single sweep', which was unrealistic as even she knew, but she did make her uncle very proud.

Of course, in a world like Spectrum, Scarlet and Blue couldn't keep their relationship secret for long. And in a world like Spectrum, most of the agents had other things to think about and didn't give a damn whether Scarlet and Blue wanted to fall in love. In fact, the only one who objected was Destiny, who'd had her own eye on Scarlet. It took a fortnight or so for the trainee Angel to convince her that it wouldn't have worked anyway, but eventually it all settled back to normal.

What's normal for Cloudbase?


End file.
